It is time to come together and talk Kong! The chatroom has been a great success, however some people have been popping in at odd hours when there is no one to chat with. To that end we've devised 2 KONG Chat times, a set time and day of the week for all Kong chatters to meet and have fun! Tonight's chat will be at 5:30PM Eastern Standard Time (click here for more info). World times are below, if you need more help click here.

Own the shoes signed by Peter Jackson. The shoes are up for auction through Clothes Off Our Back. Mr. Jackson was nominated for a Golden Globe for Director-Motion Picture for KING KONG. Proceeds from the auction benefit Cure Autism Now, Half the Sky and UNICEF's work in Darfur. [More]

TLACOLULA, Mexico — Jack Black's comic antics often leave audiences in stitches. Now Black himself is being sewn back together, a jagged line of dark thread embroidered around his eye. His impromptu surgery was necessitated by a stunt sequence in his latest cinematic venture, "Nacho Libre." That's what comes from being a successful Hollywood leading man with a bent for throwing yourself headfirst into the action, literally. [More]

Hundreds of cubic metres of polystyrene props used by Wellington's film industry are being recycled to develop the city's infrastructure. Using recycled washing machine parts, dag crushers, roller blades, vacuums and scrap steel, PolyPalace owner Richard Moore built a waste polystyrene recycling plant beside Trash Palace at Porirua landfill about two years ago. In the three months before Christmas, a record 500 cubic metres of waste polystyrene was taken in – most coming from props used in King Kong – and has been converted into "pod" flooring blocks and wooden floor insulation. Recycled polystyrene from the plant is being used by Aspec Construction Wellington to build a raised walkway at the Cook Strait ferry terminal wharf, for Kaitaki passengers. [More]

James Smart writes: A bigger, longer, more brutal version of the movie "King Kong" is now thundering out of movie screens, and I had to go see it. Kong and I go back a long way. The original was done in 1933. There was a revival when I was about six, and my father, who had been smitten with the film when it was new, took me to see it. I caught his enthusiasm. Every time Kong was in a theater near enough, I saw it again, totaling 14 times between ages six and 15. It's the story of a boisterous but amiable gorilla who would make a dandy pet if he were 25 inches high. Unfortunately, he is 25 feet high, which is all right in its place but at times can cause complications. [More]

BAGHDAD — When Kamiran Abdel Aziz wants to see a new American movie, he heads to the black market. As do most Iraqis. Rows of recent U.S. films — some still showing in U.S. theaters — can be found in shops along Al-Rubae Street in eastern Baghdad. Included in the current choices: King Kong, the remake of the Hollywood classic that is still showing in U.S. theaters. "It's amazing to watch King Kong even before Americans themselves do," Aziz said recently as he browsed the selection at the Option CDs shop. "I don't care about the quality of the DVD, so long as it's cheap and new." [More]

Who were King Kong's parents? No, really. How did that 25-foot gorilla come to be on that island in the first place? Did he begin life as a normal chimp, blowing up to monstrous size as a result of atomic radiation? Is he a genetic freak? The result of a rare glandular problem? Or is there a 25-foot Mr. and Mrs. Kong, and a whole bunch of Kong siblings, clomping through the jungle in search of 10-foot bananas? [More]

8thWonder, a KongIsKing.net chatroom operator, has informed us that he is hosting bi-weekly simultaneous viewings of old films. Load up your DVD player, and join us in the #moviechat channel as a bunch of online friends watch the movie with you. [More]

Peter Jackson & Adrien Brody were at the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California last night (January 16). 'King Kong' was nominated for Best Director and Best Score. Sadly it won neither awards, one going to Ang Lee for 'Brokeback Mountain' the other John Williams for 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. Take a look at a few choice images from last night here. [More]

The plane that meant curtains for King Kong is being pieced together at Hood Aerodrome for a grand unveiling at Sunday's Sport and Vintage Aviation Society's Open Day. The replica Curtiss Helldiver biplane used by Peter Jackson's Big Primate Productions is impressive sight even without its wings attached. The 1930s plane was purpose-built for Jackson's blockbuster, where it appears at the end of film doing battle against the greatest movie ape of them all. The biplane was fully kitted out with machine guns and given realistic wear and tear to give it the appearance of the genuine article. [More]

KING Kong collected 3 million yuan (US$371,747) in his first three days in Shanghai, Laodong Daily reported today. Local cinemas took 1.24 million yuan from the movie on Saturday as well as another 1 million yuan yesterday. Some industry insiders said it may be a bigger local box-office success than "Lord of the Rings: The return of the King," which garnered 12.03 million yuan last year. [More]

TORONTO -- Movie-goers packed into theatres all over the world for the much-anticipated King Kong remake are being blown away by special effects created, in part, using Canadian technology. Ottawa-based XYZ RGB Inc. helped bring the giant ape and the dinosaurs on Skull Island to life using cutting-edge laser scanning technology developed by the National Research Council. The stationary laser, weighing 10 tons, scans an object to create an accurate 3D digital image that special effects teams can animate on the big screen. [More]

LOS ANGELES: New Zealand director Peter Jackson's King Kong passed the $US200 million ($NZ289 million) mark in North American takings at the weekend as it fell four places to No7 at the box office. King Kong earned an estimated $US7.3 million at the weekend to reach $US202.8 million, passing the double century mark in its 33rd day of release. By contrast, another New Zealand-filmed fantasy epic, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe, reached the $US200 million mark on its 22nd North American release day. Narnia, directed by Andrew Adamson of Auckland, fell two places to No4 with to $US10.1 million, taking its total tally to $US261.4 million. [More]

Andrew writes: I was a sketch artist on the teaser and final one-sheet campaign for King Kong. I am selling one of the original sketches (part of which will go to the Diane Fossey Gorilla Foundation). I would be grateful if you would post this bit of news to your readers. Your readers may be interested in the other work that was done for the film which can be seen by navigating my site abhillustration.com.

Forget the camisole, the bustier and all the other bits of exotic underwear that have lately become more familiar as women’s skimpy outerwear. The hot international fashion trend for summer this year is likely to be the petticoat. Several decades after the fashion world’s least fashionable undergarment appeared to vanish from boutique racks, a giant gorilla and his female sidekick are helping to spur a comeback. Thanks in no small part to King Kong, who recently returned to cinemas with Naomi Watts as his love interest, America is rediscovering the petticoat. The New York Times declared last week: “If an 800-pound gorilla thinks it’s hot, so, dear, do you.” [More]